<p>I have seen a number of posts that suggest that some Div. III schools sweeten need-based aid or "academic" scholarships for recruited athletes.
Does anyone know of any attempts to determine objectively whether this happens and if so to what extent?</p>
<p>The vast, overwhelming majority of Div. III schools do not offer only need-based aid. In fact, those who claim to only offer need-based aid are the exception, not the rule.</p>
<p>Colleges leverage both need-based aid and merit scholarships to attract students who are highly desirable. </p>
<p>The Division III rules are pretty clear that colleges can't offer ATHLETIC scholarships, but most college have a lot of flexibility in the qualifications they've set for merit scholarships, tying them both to academics and more intangible, hard to quantify or predict things such as "special talents, leadership ability, character" etc. So, it is conceivable that an athlete who is highly desirable to a Division III school AND meets the OTHER requirements for a merit scholarship could be chosen to receive a merit scholarship. But, it won't just be for athletics. .Div. III schools are VERY careful not to refer to any scholarship given to an athlete as an "athletic scholarship" or a scholarship solely for athletic talent because they are not allowed to under NCAA rules. You won't be able to quantify this objectively for that very reason.</p>
<p>In terms of need-based aid, colleges use financial leveraging as well. The more desirable you are as a student at many schools, the more likely you are to receive a "better" financial aid package - for example, to have more institutional need-based grants and less loans. At schools that don't meet full need for a percentage of the student body, if you are highly desirable, you may be less likely to be gapped. So, there is the possibility that a student who is more desirable because of athletic potential might be viewed as a more desirable student at some schools and receive a better need-based package, just as a more desirable student academically, or a student who has a any special skill or interest that the school needs/wants. But, again, no one can point at any Division III school and say that all athletes will be desirable, or that financial aid leveraging will be used in this way solely for athletics. </p>
<p>Division III schools can not tag any preferences as "athletic scholarships" or as "need based aid for athletes" and you'd be very hard pressed to get ANY Division III school to tell you that they will give you any such preference SOLELY because of athletic prowess, so any speculation about individual schools "sweeting the pot" for an athlete is just that - speculation and not quantifiable. </p>
<p>Finally, every college has priorities when it comes to spending money, including financial aid and merit money. By their very nature, athletics tends to be of lesser priority at Division III schools. </p>
<p>So, if you're an athlete looking at Div. III schools, the best bet is to offer MORE than just athletics to the school -- they legally can't give any preference solely on that and at many Div.III schools spending on athletic programs isn't as big a priority. Athletes hoping for money must offer other things as well. You won't find any athletes with subpar GPAs or test scores far below the school's medians getting large merit awards from Div. III schools like you will at many Div. I schools.</p>
<p>Thanks, i guess I should have known that objective data would be scarce. Recognizing that, do any of you have anecdotal eveidence supporting the notion that Div. III schools sweeten the pot for recruited athletes through enhanced need-based aid or non-athletic merit scholarships.</p>
<p>Curious:</p>
<p>Let's beat a dead horse here. Carolyn gave you a pretty detailed response and you blow her off. How about doing your own research instead of whining.</p>
<p>Curious - to answer your question of anecdotal evidence....some of my D's friends from her school and others in our area that are good cross-country/distance runners have gotten need-based and/or merit scholarships to Amherst and Williams (D3), and Colgate (D1, but Patriot League) this year that they may or may not have gotten (or to that extent) if they were not athletes, but I cannot prove that for sure....they are all good students, but in all cases the fact that they are athletes and plan to run in college may have been the difference between getting in and getting waitlisted, or getting in with aid versus getting in with no aid or greatly reduced aid...especially since classmates with better grades/SAT scores/EC's did not get into the same schools. Sorry for the long-winded response, but if you find out a way to figure out which schools would actually do this I'd like to know as well!!</p>
<p>The beauty of anecdotes is that they are typically as fantastic as unverifiable. Spend enough time on the sidelines at athletic events involving parents of juniors and seniors, and you'll gather enough material for a bestseller in the mystical tales genre.</p>
<p>Maybe you should put all your finanical information here (tax returns) and offical transcripts? Then we all could decide if your worthy....</p>
<p>Who knows why schools give to A over B? I would think EVERYBODY'S information is treated confidentially by the schools reviewing it. So, really all you can do is guess... not the most productive practice.</p>
<p>This is how it works at our private hs, but I can imagine it must be similar to private colleges...
They expect a certain minimal academic performance to get in. They WANT a balance of average to above average students. They also want a balance of kids to fill out their teams, fine arts, and other programs. So they accept any students they WANT within that range of acceptability. Meaning some very high achieving students, some above average, some average. All bring something different to the party. I imagine the same goes with the financial aid/scholarships, but we, the public, are not privy to that information (who's on it, who's not). It's really none of our business.</p>
<p>I got admitted to a couple D-III schools and i was a recruited athlete. Two of the three give need-based aid to all students. At one school I would have been paying at 12k a year to attend. Another school, I'd pay 16k a year. The other school that said they didn't meet full need, gave me an academic scholarship for 10k a year. All three of these schools are highly ranked but I don't think athletics made a huge difference. The two need based school came within 4k of each other. I was, however, quite shocked that i received that 10k scholarship because i didn't think i had a chance. My stats weren't that impressive.</p>
<p>hsseniorlooking,</p>
<p>I did not blow carolyn's answer off. I thanked her for a very reasonable explanation of why objective evidence will be hard to obtain and asked folks to take another approach and offer whatever anecdotes they had that were relevant, as some now have.</p>
<p>Here is a way to get at the question. If you received need based aid from a number of Div. III institutions, all of which purport to meet 100% of need, but were recruited as an athlete at only some of those colleges, were the offers of need-based aid significantly different?</p>
<p>"were the offers of need-based aid significantly different?"</p>
<p>Now are you ASSUMING they all use the same exact formula for need? You know what they say... FAFSA is not the only evaluation tool a school might use. </p>
<p>I think you're moving along a track here that really can't be answered as no school is going to release private information or how they define need. </p>
<p>but, if it will help, sure d3's give atheletic scholarships via merit scholarships...</p>
<p>Opie, </p>
<p>If it's impossible to find out, how is that you know for a certainty that they do?</p>
<p>Curious, my daughter graduated last month and will be going to a DIII school. She is also an athlete -- has played the same sport since she was 6, and at a very high level since she was 10. Her situation is a little unique in several ways, but I won't bore you.</p>
<p>Anyway, she looked pretty much singularly at DIII schools because of her major. She's also bright -- good scores and GPA. </p>
<p>She was not heavily recruited, but had 3 or 4 coaches calling via telephone. </p>
<p>I, quite frankly, was surprised that when she talked to admission reps., athletics were seldom mentioned and only in passing with respect to what activities she'd like join in college.</p>
<p>On average, I'd say she was offered 60-70% tuition only scholarships at 10 different schools. She ultimately decided on Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Loved everything about the school, and luckily for Hubby and me, they also offered the best financial package. $35K cost of attendence and we are left with about $4K in various loans and $6K out of pocket. When my husband and daughter visited, the admissions rep said very directly to my husband, "We want your daughter here at Coe!" They followed through and showed us the love. Feel free to ask if you have more Q's. But the bottom line is that I don't think she got extra consideration because of her sport.</p>
<p>"If it's impossible to find out, how is that you know for a certainty that they do?"</p>
<p>Actually I was just trying to make you happy. It seems to me your looking for some way to enforce a sterotype to either make yourself feel better or complain about somebody else getting in at your "expense". </p>
<p>Why is it really important to you? Are you an athelete or anti lete?</p>
<p>NCAA Div III Conf.
NESCAC League has agreed upon rules</p>
<p>Amherst • Bates • Bowdoin • Colby • Connecticut College • Hamilton • Middlebury • Trinity • Tufts • Wesleyan • Williams</p>
<p>NESCAC Statement of Common Admissions Practices</p>
<p>The New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) includes eleven of the finest liberal arts colleges and universities in the United States. The conference enjoys a long tradition of success both in meeting high standards of athletic performance and in helping every student realize his or her full capabilities. NESCAC is committed first and foremost to academic excellence, and has established common practices to keep athletics strong and in proportion to the academic mission of the member institutions. Admissions offices work closely with athletic departments to ensure that students on all intercollegiate NESCAC teams are representative of each institution’s student body and are admitted with the expectation of their full participation in the life of the college.</p>
<p>Student-athletes applying to NESCAC institutions should be aware that, although each college has its own distinct admissions process and requirements, the following guidelines have been agreed to by all eleven members regarding all candidates for admission:</p>
<p>· All admissions decisions are rendered and delivered in writing by the admissions office only. Any communication regarding the status of admissions decisions conveyed by non-admissions personnel should be considered preliminary, unofficial, and subject to change.</p>
<p>· No admissions decision, including an Early Decision, will be made until the candidate’s application is complete and all necessary supporting documentation has been received.</p>
<p>· By NCAA and conference policy, there are no athletic scholarships awarded at NESCAC institutions. Financial aid awards are offered in writing only by the institution’s financial aid office and not before the student has been admitted. Institutions may not provide written or oral financial aid evaluations to prospective students prior to being admitted. </p>
<p>· All NESCAC institutions have an Early Decision Round One option with a mid-December notification date. All NESCAC institutions except Amherst and Williams have an Early Decision Round Two option with a notification period between February 1 and February 15. All NESCAC institutions have a late March-early April Regular Decision notification period.</p>
<p>September 22, 2005</p>